The Outsiders: Continued
by SimplySummerlea
Summary: I read the actual book, and loved it. But it killed me that Dally and Johnny died. And being that I really felt close to the characters, I figured I could try writing a fan-fiction to it. So this is a "Part 2" to the book. No one is dead! :
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer( I think that's what you call it.)**

**I do not own the original book, The Outsiders. I never have, never will. It belongs to S.E. Hinton.**

The air was frigid as it swept across the empty lot. I let out a shiver as I woke up. I rubbed my eyes, my vision still a bit blurry. I sat, bewildered, wondering what I was doing there. I looked around me.

Johnny was still asleep next to me. "Wait", I thought to myself, "Johnny is dead. Isn't he? Johnny died in the hospital." But, there he was. Alive as could be. I couldn't believe it. I could have sworn he had died. I remembered a fire, the dead Soc, and Dally getting shot, and Johnny dying. I saw him die. I kept thinking to myself. I was so confused. I didn't know what to believe.

"Johnny, wake up!" I shook his arm. He opened his eyes a little. "Wake up!" I continued to shake him.

"I'm up! I'm up!" He said drowsily. "Jeez, Pony, I'm up!" He sat up on the mattress. "Boy, it's cold!" He was shivering too.

"Yeah." I said. I heard Johnny start talking again, but I was too confused to listen.

"How was he alive?" I kept thinking. "I SAW him die!" It was an awful thought. My best friend was alive, and I kept picturing him dead in a hospital room.

All I could do was stare at him as he continued to mumble his words. "Hey, Pony? Why you keep starin' at me, man?" He eventually asked. I didn't know what to say. What he think if I told him the things that were popping into my head. But I always told Johnny everything. And I wasn't going to end that.

"I don't know, Johnny. I keep having these weird things...thinking these weird things." I stopped for a kind of pause. What was I going to say? "How did we get in the lot?" I was still puzzled.

"My folks were fightin', so we came here. Remember?" He told me. I could tell I had a confused expression on my face, because Johnny did too. "We fell asleep."

"What time is it? Darry is gonna skin me!" I realized. It was late. The stars were out and the sky was black. Johnny just shrugged. He didn't know either. "I better go then." I got up and went to leave the lot. Then stopped. It was too cold and dark for anyone, let alone a sixteen year old grease, to be staying outside. "Hey, Johnny, wanna stay over at my house?" I threw out. A big grin spread across Johnny's face. He had never actually been asked to stay at my house. He usually just came.

We walked along the sidewalk, out of the lot and down the road. All the way, I tried to comprehend what I had been thinking. That's when it hit me. I had been dreaming. And now, I was awake, and everything was back to normal. Johnny and I kept walking. My house was only a few minutes away. When we got there, I could see Darry and Sodapop, my older brothers, through the big window. They were sitting on the couch. Soda was just sitting there, staring at the door with an anxious look on his face. Darry was holding the phone. They both looked worried.

I unlatched the front gate and stepped onto the porch, Johnny close behind me. I slowly opened the door. Soda must've seen it, because he finished opening it for me. He threw his arms around me and squeezed me tight. Darry looked like he wanted to yell at me, but then they saw Johnny. They didn't like fighting around him. His parents fought enough.

"Ponyboy! We were so worried!" Soda said, still hugging me. He had a smile on his face, but at the same time, I could've sworn he was crying. Darry was still sitting down.

"Where were you?" You could hear the anger in his voice. "It's after two o' clock, Ponyboy!" Behind the anger, you could hear how worried he was. "We thought something happened to you!" He was trying hard not to yell. Not to yell, because Johnny was around.

"We were sleepin' in the lot." Johnny told Darry. He knew Darry was mad at me. Darry always seemed to be mad at me.

"What?" Darry asked blankly, looking at me.

"His folk's were fightin', so we went to the lot. And we were talkin' and, I guess, we fell asleep." I explained.

"Don't pull a stunt like this again, hear me. Next time, I WILL skin you." Darry threatened. I nodded my head. "Git off to bed. All of you." He let out a long sigh as he plopped back down into the couch.

We listened. Darry wasn't in any mood to be picking a fight with him. And, to tell you the truth, I was still tired.

"Soda! Soda! Get out here!" I heard some one yelling. Soda jumped out of bed and ran out of the room. It must've been Darry. I glanced to look out the window and saw that it was a dark gray shade, not completely black yet. I could see shadows in my yard. There were, what seemed to be, four or five people out there. One was Sodapop. He hit the window as he passed. I wasn't sure if that was on purpose and he wanted me to come out, or if he just felt like hitting the window. I went out anyway. Something had to be going on. As I got closer to the door, I could hear people yelling. One of the voices belonged to Darry. He was yelling at some body. And he meant business, I could tell.

When I got outside, I saw Darry, Sodapop, and the two Socs that took Cherry and Marcia home after we left the movie lot. They were fighting. I wasn't sure why.

I found out as soon as I stepped into their view. Bob, the Soc that Cherry was dating, pointed at me and yelled something. His words were blurred, so I figured that he was still drunk. Randy, Marcia's boyfriend, was there too. He kept yelling at Darry. It was like Soda wasn't even there. The Socs were teaming up on Darry, and I was pretty sure it was my fault. I just watched as they kept yelling at Darry. No one was actually fighting with fist or weapon yet. So I wasn't going to be the reason to start. I just kept watching. Soda looked back and saw me, and threw me an expression of which I couldn't comprehend. He gave Darry a "good luck" pat on the back and ran over. "Go back inside." He told me.

"Why are them Socs here?" I asked.

"They are looking for you and Johnny and Two-bit." He told me. " They keep sayin' something about messin' with their girls." He was holding back a smile. "They were goin' door to door searchin' for you guys. They've thrown beer bottles at every house on our road." He looked back to check on Darry. "Until some one came out to stop 'em anyway." He was talking about Darry. I couldn't help but smile. I was proud of Darry. He always protected us, no matter how mad he seemed to be. Sodapop was smiling too. "Now, go on." He told me. "Get back to bed. But be quiet about it. Johnny's still sleepin'." I nodded and went back into the house, passing Johnny, who was asleep on my bedroom floor. I climbed back into bed and watched the shadows moving outside of my window. I must've fell asleep before Darry and Sodapop came in, because I didn't hear the door open or slam shut like it always did.

Darry woke me up the next morning. It was a school day. To my surprise, somebody, other than me, made breakfast that morning. There was a big plate of bacon and eggs sitting on a plate in the middle of the kitchen table. I grabbed a piece of bacon off the plate and ate it as I went to find Darry. I wanted to find out what happened the night before.

He was in his room, getting dressed and ready for work. "Morning, Pony." He said quietly, as he grabbed a pair of socks out of his dresser.

"Hey, Darry....what'd them Socs do?" I asked him. He took a while to answer.

"They came to our house, throwing their beer bottles. I went out and tried to get them to leave. They started yelling something about some greasers and their girls. They left a little after five this morning." He told me. "Never really did anything but yell at me."

"Oh. okay." I said. I wasn't going to tell him that it was me, Johnny, and Two-bit they were looking for. I don't know how Soda knew and Darry didn't. But that's how it was. And I liked it that way. The less Darry knew, the less he had to yell at me about. I changed the subject. "Who made breakfast?" I asked. I usually made breakfast for myself, especially on school days.

"Soda." Darry said bluntly. "Sandy is coming over today. Said she had to tell him somethin'." Sandy was Soda's girlfriend. He claimed he was in love with her. I didn't know what love felt like, but Soda said it was good enough that he wanted to marry her. I always liked Sandy. And just a night or so ago, he told me he loved her and that he wanted to marry her. She was good to Sodapop and she made him happy. But, then again, Soda always seemed to be happy.

"When is she coming over?" I asked Darry. He thought about it for a few seconds.

"You'll be at school." He told me. I didn't ask if I would be there or not. I asked what time she would be there. I wanted to say that, but I knew that Darry didn't get much sleep the night before and he had work to worry about. And me adding more stress to his life wasn't even an option. It would only make him mad. And if Darry got mad when he was tired, there was no stopping him.

"That all you need, Pony?" Darry asked. He was still getting ready.

"Yeah. I guess so." I told him. I needed to finish getting ready for school. I still had to get changed and I couldn't be even a minute late. I walked to school every morning.

I grabbed another piece of bacon off of the big plate and stuck it in my mouth as I headed back to my room. Soda was in the shower, so I had to wait for my turn. I got a glass of milk and was drinking it, when I realized that Johnny was still asleep. He had to get up and get ready too. I shook his arm, and he opened his eyes a little bit. "Git up!" I told him. He sort of pushed me away. "Get up, Johnny! It's a school day!" He finally began to get up.

He probably wanted to get a shower too. But I was next. I already had that set. As soon as Soda got out, I was going to go in.

Johnny was up and going through my closet to find a clean change of clothes for school. I was waiting outside the bathroom door. Soda opened the door, covered by only a towel, and went to our room to get clothes. He did that everyday. He was just going to change in there. So I went entered the bathroom, stripped, and stepped into the shower. I turned on the water. It was very cold. It slowly heated up, turning hot enough to burn me. I washed my greasy hair and and washed my body, then got out. I dried my body with a soft towel, and then, just as Soda did, ran to my bedroom, covered only by a towel, to get clothes. I grabbed a light blue collared top and a pair of jeans, along with a pair of underwear. I changed into them, and by the time I went to put the towel I had been using back into the bathroom, somebody else was in the shower. Soda was cooking again, and Darry was at work, so it had to of been Johnny.

The walk to school was just as it usually was, just Johnny and me walking along side the road, as Socs, in their shiny mustangs and convertibles, threw and yelled things at us as they drove. Johnny was usually very quiet when we walked to school. He was too afraid to be loud. So I would just count how many times we got called greasers while we walked.

Six. We got called greasers six times, by six different people. It made me angry, but I never did anything about it. I knew if I said something, it would more than likely lead to a fight. And if I got in a fight, I could get put into a boy's home. And, though Darry seemed to be angry with me most of the time, I liked living at home with him and Soda. So I kept my mouth shut.

When we got to school, Johnny went straight to class. I stopped at my locker first. I grabbed my English book and a pencil, and, heading to class, ran into Cherry Valance. She looked pretty as ever. Her long red hair was pulled back, so her face showed completely. She looked real nice like that. She had a surprised expression on her face. "Sorry." I stammered, as I helped her pick up her books. "How you been?"

She glanced around. I think she was checking to make sure the halls were empty. "Fine." She said, as I handed her the last book. "Nice seeing you." She walked away. She didn't want to see me. She was embarrassed to be seen with me. To be seen talking to me. So she lied.

"Nice seeing you too." I said quietly. She was already gone. I wasn't sure how she felt. I wasn't even sure how I felt. I thought she liked me, and I thought I returned the same feelings. But maybe that wasn't what it was like at all.

"She is a Soc. You gotta remember that. She is a Soc. You are a Greaser." I kept telling myself in my head. "You are a greaser, not a Soc." I was glad I didn't have any classes with her. That way I didn't have to see her. "You don't even need to talk to her. She is not a greaser. She is a Soc!" I kept thinking. "You're a greaser!"

"Ponyboy! Get in here or I'm going to have to mark you absent!" I heard a voice yell. It was Mr. Syme, my English teacher. "Well, are you coming?" He asked.

"Yeah." I answered. I walked to his class room, and made my way to my desk in the back of the room. One of the older Soc boys stuck his foot out in the aisle as I walked past, and tripped me. I dropped my book on the floor as I fell. I could hear him and a few of his friends laughing as I quickly got up, grabbed my book, and took my seat.

Mr. Syme took a look at the clock hanging on the wall, and rang the bell he kept on his desk. More than half of the class left the room. I stayed in my seat. I had English first.

At the end of the day, Johnny met me at my locker, just like he always did. I was putting away my history book. As I shut my locker door, I saw Cherry quickly run past. It was settled. She didn't want to talk to me. I knew why, but it still bothered me. If I was a Soc, and she was a greaser, I would talk to her. But if she didn't want to talk to me. That was fine. Because I didn't want to talk to her. That was a lie, but I knew if I told myself it often enough, I would believe it.

"Hey, Pony. You any good at History?" Johnny asked me as we walked home.

"Yeah, I guess so. Why ya' ask?" I replied.

"I got a big test comin' up soon. It's about some war that went on. I don't get it." He told me. "Think you could help me out?"

"I could try." I told him. I couldn't say yes just yet. I hadn't seen exactly what he wanted help with.

I was pretty quiet as we continued to walk. I was wondering what Sandy wanted to tell Soda. It had to of been important. She never came to our house just to tell Soda something. I wondered what she had to say. "Maybe Soda had already asked her to marry him, and she wanted to tell him the answer or something." I thought.

I was still thinking of what she could have wanted to say, when I heard a car's horn beep. I was so startled, I jumped. I was afraid it was a Soc. I looked and saw it was Darry. He was driving his beat-up Ford Fairlane. It was so ugly, only a greaser would drive it. He honked the horn again. It sounded awful. "Want a ride?" He hollered, sticking his head out the window. I nodded at Johnny, as if to ask if he wanted a ride. He nodded back. I sat down in the passenger seat, and Johnny took a spot in the back. "I'll drop you off, okay, Johnnycake?"

"Yeah." Johnny answered quietly. Darry drove down the road a little, and let Johnny out in front of his house. He watched as Johnny walked into his house. Then he turned to face me. His eyes were cold as ever. He began to drive again.

I wasn't sure why he looked at me like that. "I needed to talk to you before you got home." He said, keeping his eyes on the road and his hands on the wheel. "It's about Soda." As soon as I heard Soda's name, I focused my attention on what he was going to say. "Sandy came over this morning. Told him some big news." He told me. I got the feeling he didn't want to tell me what she said. But I had to know.

"What'd she say, Dar?" I asked.

He looked at me, his eyes beginning to appear almost gentle. "She told him she was pregnant." He said hesitantly. "Soda went nuts."

"Why?" I wondered. "He doesn't want kids?"

Darry stopped the car for a second. "It isn't his, Ponyboy." He turned up our road. "She cheated on him."

I didn't know what to say. I thought she loved him as much as he loved her. "How'd he know?" I asked.

"They never..." He left his voice fade. I knew what he meant. And I wasn't going to make him say it. Darry didn't like talking like that. He hated the whole subject. Truthfully, so did I. It was odd and made me feel uncomfortable.

Darry parked his car in front of our house, and he stopped me in front of the door. "Don't say anything to your brother. He's broke up enough as it is." He told me. "Got it?" I nodded. He rubbed my shoulder and let me in the house. I took off my shoes and threw them next to the door. I walked into the livingroom, and threw myself back into the armchair. Soda was sitting on the sofa. His elbows were dug deep into his legs and he was holding his face, looking down at the floor. I wanted to say something. Wanted to wrap my arms around him, and say it was okay. Wanted to tell him Sandy wasn't the one. But I told Darry I wouldn't say anything. So I didn't.

So I went to our room. I jumped back into my bed, and waited for dinner. Usually Soda made it, but Darry, knowing how crushed he was, decided to make it instead. It was good, being that he rarely cooked. It was a simple meal. Chicken and mashed potatoes. But it was good. Darry ate almost half of it himself. I had a little bit. And Soda only ate half of what was on his plate. He just got up from the table and went to our room, leaving his half full plate sitting at his spot. I wanted to follow him to make sure he was okay. It wasn't often that he got that upset. Darry could tell I wanted to go after him. I guess he could see it in my face. "Go on." He told me. I couldn't help but smile. I got up and went for my room. The door was shut. I opened it to see Soda lying on the bed, tears in his eyes and a cigarette in his hand. He only smoked when he was upset. I sat down on the bed.

"Hey, Pony." He managed to say.

"What's wrong?" I asked although I already knew.

"Darry didn't tell you?"

"He did." I confessed. "But...I don't know. I guess I just wanted to hear it from you."

"Sandy cheated on me, Pony. I thought she loved me." He cried.

"What all happened while I was at school? What all did she say?"

He looked up at me. He had a look in his eyes. Relief. He finally had the chance to get it off his chest. "Sandy came over this morning. She had told me that she had news for me. Big news. And she gets here, all right, and she tells me that she is pregnant and that we are going to have a baby." He paused. "But I didn't believe her, because the only way she could have been pregnant was if she....if it was some one else's kid. 'Cause there was no way it was mine. We never..." He looked up. I think he was seeing if I was still listening. I was. "But I got up and here she is, all excited that we are going to parents, and I start to say that it couldn't be mine. And then she goes crazy on me. Yelling and screaming. So I started to yell back. I don't know why I did, but I did. And then she says it's over and that she was moving to Florida. And then she slammed the door and left." He was almost in tears. "I felt awful, like it was my fault she left, because I yelled at her."

"It's not your fault, Soda. She cheated on you." I told him. "Besides, I don't think Sandy is the one for you." I gave him a hug. He grasped me tightly. "It'll be fine, Soda."

"I know." He said. "Thanks, little buddy."

The next day played out about the same way, with the exception of the fight Soda had with his girlfriend and Darry picking me up.

When I got home from school, Dally was sitting on our sofa, a candybar in his hand. He was just sitting there. The television was off. "Hey, Dal." I waved quietly. "Whatcha' doing?"

He looked over at me, acknowledging me for the first time. "Oh. Hey, Ponyboy." He replied. I asked him, again, what he was doing. "Just waiting." He said. There was a slight smile on his face. "Just waiting." He elongated his words.

"For what?" I asked, my curiosity taking over. Dally let out a silent chuckle.

"Daisy's coming back." He grinned.

Daisy was his younger sister. When their family lived in New York, she stayed with their grandparents, being that their parents didn't want either of them, and she didn't have a choice where she went. So he hadn't seen her in over four years. That was the last time he got a chance to go visit her in New York. I went with him. We took a bus to get there. It was the first time I saw her. She was only ten, just as I was. But she was different. She was special. She was the first girl I ever had a crush on. There was just something about her. I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew it was there. And, whatever it was, I liked it. But I doubted she even remembered me.

"Why are you waiting here?" I asked. It was strange that while waiting for his sister from New York, he'd be sitting in my house, just waiting.

"Darry's going to take me to where the buses leave off. He just has to get off work and come pick me up." Dally explained. I couldn't help but let out a little laugh. He hadn't seen his sister in four years, and he was going to pick her up in Darry's ugly, old Ford Fairlane. Lucky her. She was going to hate it here.

"How long is Daisy stayin', Dal? Do you know?"

"How ever long she wants. Our Gram just died, so she got sent back. But..my folks don't want to see her. That's why they left her." Dally told me. I already knew that. I also knew that they didn't want him either. They tried leaving him there with her, but he was too much for their grandmother to handle. At least that was what Dally told me, and it wasn't often that he lied, unless you are counting what he says when he gets hauled in by the fuzz. So I believed nearly everything he said. Plus, I had met Dally's parents, and they seemed the type. They didn't deserve to be parents. Which would explain why their kids didn't belong at their house.

Dally had a look on his face, as though he were debating whether to tell me something or not. "Can you keep a secret?" He finally asked, motioning that I come towards him. I nodded my head and sat down next to him on the sofa. "I'm eighteen now. Know what that means?" He asked. I shook my head to say no. "I can move out, and I am technically at the age to be a legal guardian." His words struck me hard. The only time Dally ever used the word "legal" was when he was about to break the law, or if he really cared about something. And Daisy was his everything. No one else in the gang seemed to realize it, but Daisy was the closest thing to a best friend Dally had, and he would do anything to please or protect her. No matter the cost.

"What's that have to do with anything?" I asked.

"I'm going to rent an apartment." He said. "And Daisy can stay there if she wants to." He stopped, probably thinking of what he was going to say next. "I-" He was interrupted. Sodapop came through the door, joyful as usual. You couldn't even tell that the "love of his life", Sandy, broke up with him the day before. But inside, I knew he was devastated.

Soda plopped down on the sofa between Dally and me, nearly sitting on my lap. I pushed him off of me and went into the kitchen. I was hungry. I didn't eat lunch at school. I didn't like hoagies at my school. The whole idea of ham, bologna, and white cheese just really made me sick. And the taste was enough to make a person vomit. Just the sight was enough to make a person sick. So it was hard to sit with Johnny as he devoured his. I tried not to watch, not to smell, not to hear him chewing, while, at the same time, I was trying to help him study for his history test. Turns out the test was going to be over World War II, and all he had to know was the year it started and the year it ended. It was that simple. So I just sat there, trying to avoid the ghastly sandwiches, as I tried to help Johnny remember the facts.

I opened the refridgerator, glanced around at the different raw foods, and realized that there wasn't anything there for me to eat. There wasn't muchbut eggs, milk, cheese, vegetables, and a jug of water. The meats were kept in the freezer. But Darry didn't allow me to cook them, because he knew I burnt alot of food. And we couldn't afford the loss. Soda would be making dinner, I remembered. He wasn't openly upset anymore. So I dug through the freezer and found half a pound of ground beef. I put it in the fridge to thaw, that way when Soda got around to making supper, it would be ready.

"Soda! I put meat in the fridge!" I hollered, so he would hear me.

"All right!" He yelled back. "Thanks!"

I heard the front door open and close, followed by Darry's booming voice, which rang throughout the house. "Come on!" I heard the sound of two sets of footsteps and then the door reopened and closed again. Darry and Dally had just left to pick up Daisy.

Darry got back around seven o' clock that night. Dally wasn't with him. And I was almost disappointed that Daisy wasn't. After Dally, I was the most excited to see her. Of course, none of the other guys in the gang had ever met her.

We all sat down to eat when he got back. All the while, my mind was stuck on her. Daisy Winston was coming to town. I wondered if she would still look the way she did when we were ten. If she still had long light brown hair and dark brown eyes that seemed to dance like Soda's did. I wondered if she still wore dresses and bows in her hair. I wondered if she still smiled, that perfect white smile that forced you to smile back, at everyone she met for the first time. I wondered if her laugh was still happy, or if it was like the girls' at school. I wondered if she still talked to everyone with a loving, happy voice. I wondered if she was still the same Daisy Winston I had met four years ago.

"PONYBOY!" Soda hollered. I guess I got so wrapped up in my "I wonders" that I didn't even notice that Soda had been trying to get my attention. "Anyone in there?" He knocked on the side of my head. I let out a quiet chuckle, and pushed his hand away.

"What?"

"Why ain't you talking to us? We've been trying for the past hour!" He exaggerated. Soda always stretched the truth when it came to telling time. He could turn ten minutes into four hours if he wanted to.

"Oh. Sorry." I stammered. "I was thinking about something."

"Whatcha thinking about, Pony?"

I looked at him for a second. "It's nothing." I lied.

"Ponyboy, you clean up these dishes when you are done eating." Darry butted in. "I'm going to bed."

I told Darry that I would. Soda and I told him "good night" and then he left the table. Soda and I were still eating our food. "So, Ponyboy." He said between mouthfuls. "What were you thinking about?"

I didn't know what to say. "I already told you. Nothing." I said, stuffing a spoonful of apple sauce into my mouth.

"It's got to be something, for you to ignore me and Darry like you did." He told me. That's when I realized why I didn't say anything. I didn't want them to know, because Darry was there.

And Darry wasn't at the table anymore. So it was safe to tell Soda. "I was thinking about Daisy Winston." I shoved another spoon of apple sauce in my mouth.

"Dally's sister?" He sounded confused. "How do you know her?"

"I went up to see her a few years ago, with Dally." I told him. "You weren't home." It was a Saturday that we went to see her. Soda was at the store with our mom. Darry and our dad were home with me. And Darry didn't want to go with Dally. So I went.

"Oh, yeah. I 'member Darry sayin' something about you being up in New York or something." Soda didn't sound too sure. "That don't tell me why you're thinking about her though." He said as he chewed the food in his mouth.

"I don't know, Soda. She was real nice." I started to explain. "She was different than any other girl I've ever met."

Soda swallowed his food, and looked up at me. "That a good or bad thing?"

"Good, I think." He threw me a smile and got up from the table, dropping his plate in the sink. It made a loud clanging sound as it hit another dish. I finished up my food and then added me and Darry's plates to the sink.

Then I went to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

The lunch room was full, I noticed, as I sat my tray at my regular table and took a seat. It was a BBQ sandwich day, the only day I ate school lunch. The room was filled with tempting aroma of the tasty sandwich. Though, on any other day, I wanted to insult the lunch ladies' cooking, I had to admit, they made a good barbeque sandwich. It seemed like that was the only thing they actually knew how to cook. I always got two of them, I liked them so much.

Johnny was the complete opposite. He ate just about everything the school served. He ate the sandwiches. He ate the burgers. He ate the pasta. He even ate the sickly hoagies. I don't how he did it. But he did. And, even after all that, he ate the barbeque sandwiches too.

I was still trying to help Johnny study for his test. I couldn't understand why he couldn't get it. He only needed to know two things. Two. Beginning and end. I had taken that same test the year before, and aced it. But, I had to remember, I got bumped up a grade. Johnny didn't. He had failed. That was the only reason we had alot of the same classes together. He was still a year ahead of me, but his scholastics were behind me. That was the only reason he always came to me for school help.

We were both trying to eat as we reviewed the information. I asked him the same questions, over and over, hoping he would answer them correctly. But he got them wrong, every single time. I just wanted to quit, but I'm not that kind of person.

Barbeque sauce smeared around my mouth as I took a big bite into my sandwich. I chewed slowly, savoring its taste in my mouth. I swallowed it. I didn't mind that there was food on my face. It wasn't like I got much attention at school. Not many people wanted to talk to me. And there weren't that many people I wanted to talk to.

"When did the war start?" I asked Johnny again. His eyes roamed around the room, as though he thought the answers were written in the walls or something.

"I don't know, Pony." He huffed. "Can we just be done for now?"

"Yeah." I handed him his history book, and grabbed my second sandwich. I took a big bite out of it.

That's when I saw her.

I wasn't sure who it was, but she sure did catch my attention. From where I was, I could see she had light brown hair, maybe dirty blonde, and a small build. I couldn't get a real good description of her, because she was sitting to far away to go into details. She was sitting at a table with some other girl I didn't know. She had blonde hair and she was skinny too. Neither of them were eating.

"Hey, Johnny." I said, not taking my eyes off of their table. "You know who those girls are?"

"What girls?" He asked. I pointed at the table they were sitting at. His eyes got big. "Huh-uh. They sure are pretty though, huh?"

"Sure are." I answered. I couldn't see them real good, but I saw enough to tell that they were pretty. "I've never seen them before."

"I've seen the blonde one. I don't know who she is though." He told me. "Her locker is just down from mine."

"What about the other one?" I asked. She was the one that caught my attention, not the blonde.

"Never seen her before."

We were both still watching them. I hoped they would not look over at us, because they would probably think we were staring at them. So, every few seconds, I would look away. I remembered I still had food on my face, and didn't want them seeing that either. I quickly grabbed the napkin off of Johnny's tray and wiped my face. I was pretty sure it was all off.

My food was gone. So was Johnny's. And he was the one that usually emptied our trays. Of course, I never ate. So, Johnny was the only one with a tray to empty. But today, he took both of ours. And I stayed back at the table, watching the brown-haired beauty. I watched carefully, trying to see her face. But I couldn't.

Suddenly, the blonde got up from her seat, leaving the other girl alone at her table. Now was my chance. I got up from my seat and headed for her table, forgetting about Johnny and the the blonde, where-ever she was. I sat down next to her. I don't think she noticed I had sat down. "Hello?" I finally said, trying to get her attention. She looked over at me, startled.

"Oh, hi." There was a big smile on her face. A smile that forced you to smile back. "Sorry about that. I didn't see you there."

"That's okay." I said. "I don't think I've ever seen you here before."

She let out a sort of quiet giggle. "You've seen me before. Just not here." She still had a smile on her face, but she was trying to hide it. I couldn't hear her laughing, but I could see it in her eyes. Eyes that danced and smiled, just like Soda's.

"Wait....Daisy?" I asked.

"I knew you would remember me." She said as she threw her arms around me. "I sure remembered you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You look just the same." She let go.

"You look kind of different." I had to admit.

"How so?"

Besides her smile and her eyes and her hair, she looked alot different. She looked older, and she was developing. "You look even prettier than you did last time I saw you." I knew I was blushing. I could feel my cheeks turn red. Hers did too.

"Really?" She asked. I couldn't believe I said it the first time, how could I say it again?

I nodded, a smile on my still-red face, and she smiled back. "Aww...Ponyboy." She stretched out her words. "that's so sweet." I didn't know what to say next. So I glanced at the table Johnny and I were stting at before. He was there again. Watching me.

"Hey, well, my buddy is back. I'm suppose to help him study." I told her.

"Oh, okay. Nice seeing you!" She smiled.

I got up from the seat. "You too." I began to walk to my old table.

"Wait!" She called out. I quickly spun around. "Have your friend sit over here with me and Jennifer."

I went and told Johnny what she said, and we both went over to her table.

"You can sit here when ever you want." She said, looking straight at me.

"Okay." I told her. Johnny just sat there. I nudged him in the side.

"Umm...alright." He agreed, rubbing his side.

Just then I heard the school bell ring. Lunch was over. Everyone seemed to rush out of the room, except for us three. "What class do you have next?" Daisy asked me. I told her I had history. "Me too." This time, I smiled. And she had to smile back.

In history, Mrs. Onedra introduced Daisy to the class. Then she gave her a seat in the back, next to me. All of the greasers sat in the back, just because Mrs. Onedra was a soc. But I didn't understand why she thought Daisy was a greaser. She didn't look like one or dress like one. She was a looker, and even the socs seemed to think so.

Johnny met me at my locker after the last class of the day. I put away my history book and shut my locker door. "What was

with you at lunch when you got back?" I asked him.

"That blonde girl came over to the garbage cans and started yelling at me." He told me. "I wasn't staring at her, was I?"

"A little." I told him. He just looked at me.

"Well...she said I was." He said quietly. "I think that was the only time I ever liked getting yelled at."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing." I was still laughing.


	3. Chapter 3

Johnny ate supper at my house that night. His parents weren't home. It was weird, because they were always there. They might of always been yelling, but they were there. It was both a good and bad thing they weren't. Good, because Johnny didn't have to see them and hear them yell at him. Bad, because he knew that as soon as they got back, they would probably just fight worse than they usually did.

"I wonder where my folks are." Johnny said as I passed him the bowl of peas. No one said anything. I just shrugged.

"So, Johnny, Ponyboy says you have a history test coming up." Darry asked, shoving a piece of pork chop in his mouth. I had told him about the test. I even told him how angry I got when Johnny repeatedly answered the questions wrong. That was probably the only reason that he even mentioned it. That, and I think he heard Johnny reciting the dates. He finally knew them. I was really happy.

"Yeah, but all I got to know is the dates of when the war started and ended." Johnny told him.

"Well, what kind of test is that?" Darry asked.

"I don't know. Rick was the one that told me what was on it." Johnny told us.

"Who's Rick?" I asked.

"Greaser in my history class." Johnny took a bite of his food. "He said that the answer sheet was laying on the teacher's desk and it had just said World War II, and then when it started and when it stopped."

"You mean ole' Rick Taylors?" Soda asked. "I wouldn't believe a word that kid said unless I saw it too. He's just like his brother." Soda began to swear about how Rick's older brother used to work at the gas station until he got thrown in the cooler. "Surprised they don't share a jail cell!" He continued. Darry was must've known his brother too, because he was laughing so hard he spit peas across the table. I ended up having to clean up the mess he made.

I walked Johnny home after dinner, to see if his parents were home yet. They weren't. It was weird, walking up to his house without hearing people arguing and fighting. It was almost.. wrong. I was that used to hearing his alcoholic mother and his abusive father fighting and yelling.

His parents never did come home that night. We waited in the vacant lot, for probably an hour or so, talking as we waited for a rusty car to pull into his driveway. But it never came. So he stayed at my house again. I didn't mind. I liked it when Johnny slept over, because then, when we played board games, I had a partner. It was usually one against another. But when he stayed over, if Darry was up to it, we'd split up and play against each other. Darry and Soda against me and Johnny. The games were usually pretty close, because Darry was really good, and me and Johnny as a team were about as good as he was. And that was pretty good. But Darry wasn't feeling like it. He said something about re-roofing some girl's house, and he was exhausted.

"So, Darry, what'd she look like?" Steve Randle, who was watching TV in our livingroom, yelled loud enough that I could hear him all way from my bedroom.

"Who?" He called back from his room. He was probably trying to go to sleep.

"The chick at the house you were working at!" Steve yelled again. "What'd she look like?" That was always the first thing that came out of Steve's mouth, anytime a girl was mentioned. It was as though he _only_ cared about what they looked like. I was different though. I liked a girl by the way she acted. And if she was pretty, that just sweetened the deal. That's how Daisy was, I thought, except she wasn't just pretty. She was gorgeous, almost stunning. There weren't many well-behaved girls that looked as good as her around where we lived. Heck, there weren't many girls like her at all.

"She was okay." Darry mumbled. Me and Darry didn't agree on much, but we both respected girls. So did Soda. Our dad had taught us that. "Normal height, normal size." He said, still mumbling. You could tell he was ready to go to bed.

"No, man! I mean, like, what does she really look like?" Steve yelled out again. Johnny and I went out in the livingroom, so we could listen in on the conversation better. I always did like hearing the older guys in the gang talk about girls. I don't know why, but I did. Except for when they were talking about things that made me feel uncomfortable. I hated that.

"I don't know. She didn't stick around long." Darry finally came out of his room, knowing Steve was just going to continue bombarding him with questions. "She had brown hair." Darry was never good at describing people. Not like me. He just gave you the things anyone could see.

"What shade?" I asked. I was always interested in details. I liked specific descriptions.

"It was kind of like the," He stopped, looking around the room,"kind of like the table over there." It was a plain colored brown table. Not too dark, not too light. Just about right. "And it was wavy." I tried to picture what she looked like. A well-proportioned girl with wavy brown hair. She was old enough to own a house, she had to of been, but she couldn't have been that old, or else Darry wouldn't have mentioned her the way he did. Darry rarely told us about the people he did jobs for. Actually, now that I think about it, Darry never told us unless he had strong feelings about the person. And usually they weren't too good.

I always liked listening to stories about Darry at work and Soda at his job. I even liked hearing about what happened to Steve at work. So, I stayed in the livingroom, to hear the rest of what he was going to say. "Did you get her number?" Steve laughed. Darry shook his head and let out a chuckle.

"No."

"What about her name?" Soda yelled from the kitchen.

"Sophia something." Darry yelled back. "I have to finish her roof tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

I got up the next morning, feeling a little sick. But I figured it would pass after awhile, and I would be fine. So I went to school with a stomach ache. By third period, I felt awful. I wanted to puke. But I needed to stay in school. Darry couldn't come and pick me up. Neither could Soda. They were both at work. So I stuck it out a little longer. We couldn't afford for them to lose any money. Besides, I wanted to stay at school. A lot of people found that strange, but it was true. I liked school.

Johnny's history test was that day. And I wanted to know how he thought he did on it. He knew the dates, so I figured he passed. He told me that he would let me know at lunch.

When I walked into the cafeteria, I saw Johnny sitting across from the blonde. Daisy was sitting there too. I guess their offer to sit with them was serious, even if I still had my doubts. The blonde didn't look like the type that would want to be sitting with a few greasers. I took a seat at the table, next to Johnny. He wasn't eating, which surprised me. "How was the test?" I asked.

"It wasn't over the dates, man! It was over the whole thing." You could tell, just by the tone of his voice, that he was upset. "I think I failed." I felt bad. If I had known it was over the entire war, I would have studied with him while he was at my house. But we didn't know. No one did.

"That test was stupid anyways. No one cares about the war." The blonde commented. She must be in his class, I thought. "Don't you think so?" She was looking at Johnny. She looked angry. I figured she did bad too. I wished Johnny didn't fail that test. His parents already yelled at him for every little thing he did. Who knows what they would do if he gave them a reason to be mad.

Johnny hesitated. "Yeah, I guess so." He put his head down against the table.

"Johnny! Get your face off the blasted table!" The blonde yelled. Johnny popped his head up, quick as a flash. His eyes were big as he looked at her, startled. I just looked at the blonde. She seemed so angry, all the time. I had only seen her for the first time yesterday, but you could just see the anger behind her dark blue eyes. It was scary. She had the same look in her eyes that Steve's father had in his anytime I seen him. It was a look that could scare a ghost.

"Shut up." He mumbled under his breath. He looked like he was going to cry. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what. He sat his head back down on the table. The blonde threw him a dirty look, even though she knew he couldn't see it. Daisy just sat there. I could hear Johnny pouting. I felt so bad.

"Hey, Johnny." I said quietly. "What's wrong?" Johnny didn't cry much. The only times he did was if something was wrong or really bad or if he got jumped and beat up enough. There was no way he was going to cry because he failed a test. There was just no way. "Come on, tell me. What's the matter?" He looked up at me. His eyes were watery, but he wasn't crying. "I know you aren't crying 'cause of some test."

Johnny sat up straight and wiped his eyes. "My dad's dead." He managed to say.

"What?" I asked. I heard someone let out a angry sigh, probably the blonde.

"My dad died, Pony." Johnny said. "He's dead!" His lip trembled as he said it.

"How do you know?" I asked. We had been in school all day, and he didn't see either of his parents the day before.

Johnny looked at me for a few seconds. "My math teacher told me."

I found that a little strange. Why would his math teacher know before he did? "How did he know?"

"I don't know. I just walked into class and he pats my shoulder and tells me everything's gonna be okay." He told me. "And I had to ask him what the heck he meant. And he said he heard about my old man getting shot or something." Johnny paused. "He's dead." Johnny sat his head back on the table. Nobody said anything. Not even the blonde. We all just kind of sat there the rest of the lunch period. No one ate. No one spoke. No one did anything. Finally, the bell rang. I shook Johnny to get him up; he had fallen asleep.

Daisy was pretty quiet in history. We were learning about the French and Indian war. I thought it was boring. The whole thing was pointless, I thought as I read the chapters we were assigned. It was just a bunch of fighting and killing over control. It was kind of like the way the greasers and the socs were. Fighting and killing. But I wasn't really sure if it was for control.

"Daisy!" I whispered, trying to get her attention. She looked over at me.

"What?" She mouthed.

"What is your friend's name?"

"Which one?" She asked.

"The blonde."

"Jennifer Liams, why?" She asked. To tell you the truth, I don't know why I asked her. I guess I was bored, and I guess I couldn't stop worrying about how Johnny was doing. He was really upset at lunch.

"She's kinda mean, don't you think?" I blurted. I didn't mean for it to come out like that. She could have tooken it offensively. Daisy just shrugged.

"She has her moments. But she is actually pretty nice if you get to know her." She whispered. We were both quiet for a little while. "Is Johnny going to be okay? He seemed pretty wrecked up at lunch."

"I think so. I don't get why he was so upset."

"His dad died, Pony! Of course, he's upset!" She stressed.

I shook my head. "His dad only paid attention to him when he was beating him." I whispered. Her mouth took the shape of an "O." I couldn't help but smile. She was one of those people that made you smile for no reason at all.

I walked Johnny home after school. He didn't talk the entire time, so neither did I. His parents' car was back when we got there. I couldn't hear anyone yelling or fighting like I usually did when I was near Johnny's house. So I let him go in. Then I continued my walk home.


	5. Chapter 5

I was sitting on the floor in my bedroom, leaning against my bed when Darry came in. I put a piece of paper in the book I was reading, to mark my place, and sat it on the floor next to me. "Johnny's in the livingroom." He whispered, trying hard not to wake up Soda, who was sprawled across the bed, asleep. I sat my book on the shelf next to my bedroom door, and went headed for my livingroom. Sure enough, Johnny was sitting on our sofa. I sat down next to him. I didn't realize it at first, but he looked like he had been beat-up a little. He had a cut on his cheek and I could tell it was fresh. There was a bruise starting to form on his cheek too. And he had the same look in his eyes that he did at lunch. He was close to tears.

"What's the matter, Johnnycake?" I asked, putting my arm around him. Darry must have noticed Johnny's cheek too, because he took a seat in the livingroom. He didn't turn on the TV. That's how I knew he was listening to what Johnny had to say.

"I knew this was going to happen! I knew it!" Johnny wailed. He had his head down, looking towards the floor. He was crying. Darry just looked over at me with a puzzled kind of look on his face. "That's why I was so upset today, Pony!"

"Because of your dad?" I asked. Darry was looking at us like we were crazy, but I hadn't told him about Johnny's dad yet.

He looked up at me and shook his head. "No. My mom." I was confused. His dad was the one that died. "I knew she would do that." He was trying hard not to cry, I could tell. But he just couldn't seem to stop.

"What do you mean, Johnny?" I asked. "What's your mom got to do with anything?"

"I knew she was going to go nuts on me, as soon as I found out about my old man!" Johnny yelled behind tears. "I got home and as soon as she saw me, she started yelling. She said it was my fault." The room went silent.

Darry, who was completely lost, finally spoke up. "What's all your fault?" I wished he hadn't have asked that. It just made Johnny start crying real hard again.

"My pa died!" He cried. Darry was just as lost as I was when I found out. He didn't get why Johnny cared. I could see it in his face.

"Sorry, little man." Darry never did call Johnny "Little buddy" like he did for me or Soda when we were upset. "It's alright."

Johnny shook his head. "No, it's not." He wiped the tears off of his face. "I told her I didn't even know about it until today, and she threw her bottle at me and told me to get out!" He was bawling again. I knew where he got his cut and bruise from now. "She said if I ever came back, she'd do worse than just cut up my face." He sniffled a little. "So I ain't ever going back."

"So, where are you going to stay?" Darry asked, his face sensitive.

"I don't know! I don't got no more family anywhere near here!" He cried. Darry got up from his seat and bent over near next to Johnny, who looked up at him and stopped crying.

I had no clue what Darry was up to. I never really knew with him. "Stay with us for a little while." He said, patting Johnny on the shoulder. "It won't be permanent, since money's all ready so tight." I was almost in shock. Darry was going to let Johnny stay with us. I could barely believe it.

Johnny's eyes lit up. "Are you serious?" He asked. Darry nodded. A huge grin spread across Johnny's face as he hugged Darry. And to my surprise, Darry hugged him back.

"Hey, Pony, go wake up Soda." Darry told me as Johnny released the grip off his hug. "Tell him to get out here." I did what he said, even though I didn't know why.

I shook Soda's sleeping body, causing him to awaken with a fright. "What?" He yelled. "I was sleeping!"

"Yeah, I know. I_ can_ see, you know." I told him.

"Don't get smart with me. Now, what do you want?"

"Darry needs you." With that, Soda got out of bed and drug himself into the livingroom, still sort of asleep. Darry motioned for him, and then whispered something so that I couldn't hear.

"Oh, okay. Is Pony gonna help?" Soda asked.

"Am I gonna help what?" I butted in.

"Move Soda's stuff out of your room and move that old chair from up in the attic into your room. That's what. And yeah, you're gonna help." Darry said sternly.

"Bu-"

"You want to share a room with two people, or one?" Darry asked.

"One." I said bluntly.

I guess Darry was going to have Soda move into his room and Johnny move into mine. So we all moved Soda's magazines and figurines and all the other stuff he had thrown around our room into Darry's. Then we scooted my bed over and smushed the short old sofa from the attic next to it. I guess Johnny was going to sleep there. Darry and Soda organized their room by themselves and said that it was up to me and Johnny to fix up ours.

Johnny was smaller than me, so we went up to the attic to go through some of the old boxes of my clothes. I figured they would fit him. And since the only clothes he had with him were the ones on his back, I figured it was worth a shot. We found four boxes. One had some of my old shirts and jackets and even some of Soda and Darry's clothes that were too small for me. Another one had a bunch of shoes in it. They weren't all mine. A few must have been Darry and my dad's, because they fit me. The other boxes were full with pants and shorts and socks. I even found a few hats, probably my mom's. We took all the clothes that fit us downstairs and sat them next to the washer. Then we went to search for some stuff to entertain us. There was some pretty funny stuff up in that attic.

"Look at this old thing!" I laughed, throwing an old white doilie at Johnny. He started to laugh too as he sat it on his head and continued looking through boxes. I found a red doilie in the same box. "Here!" I said, throwing him that one too. He sat it upon his head, just as he did with the other.

"Do I look pretty, Pony?"Johnny asked me in a high pitched voice. He smiled as he laughed. I think that was first time in a long time that Johnny smiled a smile that was truly happy.

"Yeah, you look dashing." I laughed. "Now come on, get those off your head. I think they were my mom's." He handed me them and I carefully put them back in the box. I didn't want anything to happen to them, no matter how stupid I thought they were. They belonged to my mom.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day at school, Johnny asked his math teacher how he knew about his father's death before he did. I guess he was there. Johnny told our lunch table that Mr. Haxel, his math teacher, said that he was shopping at a little market in town, and Johnny's parents were there. He must have recognized them from the one time they had to pick him up from school, I figured. But, I guess, they were up in line and were going to check out their stuff at the register, and someone came in, wanting to rob the store. According to Mr. Haxel, Johnny's dad stood up to the guy, and he shot him. More than once. Mr. Haxel told Johnny that he tried calling the hospital, but he was already dead by the time they got there. It was a sad story. Just hearing Johnny recite what Mr. Haxel had told him was upsetting, but at least he knew now.

The story didn't really seem to bother Johnny, which surprised me. He almost had a smile on his face as he told the three of us. "Hey, Johnny?" I asked with hesistation. "Why'd ya seem so happy when you told me 'bout your dad?"

He just kind of looked at me for a second. "I don't know. I guess it's 'cause he stood up to a robber." He grinned. "Makes me kind of proud, even if I didn't like him." It made sense. I mean, if some one stood up to a robber, I'd be proud too, no matter if I liked him or not. It's just something to be proud of. But that could just be me.

In history class, Mrs. Onedra was going on about the French and Indian war again. I was nearly asleep when I felt someone tugging on my shirt sleeve. It was Daisy. She looked concerned about something. "What?" I asked drowsily. She kept pulling my sleeve. "What's wrong?"

"The bell rang, Pony!" She laughed. "Get up sleepy head!" She ruffled my hair a little, and began to pull at my cheeks. I pushed her away sleepily, both of us laughing. She stood there, next to my desk, until I got up. We both had gym next, and the teacher wasn't too strict when it came to time. So, we didn't really look at the clock. Her locker was close to the gymnasium, so we both kept our clothes bags in there. We stopped to get them and then headed off to class. I carried her bag.

"So, what did I miss?" I asked.

"Not much, except that we have a test over all that junk in a week."

"Next Friday?" I asked.

"Yeah." She told me. "It's really easy though."

"You think so?" I wondered. "I don't know any of it."

She laughed. "Maybe if you didn't sleep all period!" I started to laugh too. She was right. I would have no problem if I had been paying attention.

"Yeah, yeah. So, you get that stuff?"

"I guess so. Why?"

"Wanna help me?" I asked.

"You mean, like, tutor you?" She stopped.

"Yeah. But not because I'm dumb." I told her. I wanted to make it clear that I didn't need a tutor because of problems with learning. I just didn't pay attention.

"I know. And, sure, I'll help you." She smiled. "When?"

"How 'bout this weekend? I could call you." I couldn't believe I had just said that.

"Wait, you have my number?"

"No, but if you gave me it, I could call and then I could come get you and walk you to my house." I offered. I didn't want her to have to walk alone up the streets. It wasn't safe, and she wasn't trained to fight.

"Okay. Hold on." She grabbed a peice of paper from her gym bag and wrote a few numbers on it. "There!" She said, handing it to me. "My number. And, so you don't get lost when you pick me up, you can walk me home after school." She giggled. She was good at smooth talking, almost a natural. I wish I could do that. I already knew where she lived, since it was Dally's house too. But, I didn't tell her that.

"Alright. I guess that's fair." I said, shoving her number into my pants pocket.

Gym class was the same as any other. Mr. Stevens kept blowing his whistle. The class kept running laps. I was out of breath and sweat was running down my forehead and dripping off of my chin. Thank goodness gym was the last period of the day. I put my stuff back in Daisy's locker, and then we met Johnny at his. He was surprised to see her with me. But, behind his shocked expression, he was full of joy. He pulled a peice of paper from his locker and began to wave it around.

"I got back my test!" He gleamed. "I didn't do as bad as I thought!" I took the test from him and began to review it. He got a seventy-six percent. Most of the test was multiple choice, which he probably guessed on, which helped him out alot. And to my surprise, the only open question was about the dates. When the war started, and when the war ended.

"That's great!" I said, handing him back the test. I threw it in his locker and joined me and Daisy as we began to out of the building. Daisy threw her bag over her shoulder and walked in a kind of slant. It had to of been heavy. So I took it from her and I carried it. Johnny threw me a peculiar look. I returned it with a smirk. He held back a grin. I think he knew I liked her, even if I hadn't told him. I wondered if she knew. If I was making it that obvious, she probably did. I didn't ask though.

My shoulder was starting to hurt as we continued down the road. Her bag really was heavy! We had to take a different route home, since Daisy's house wasn't along the way of our regular one. No one was there when we arrived. She said that was normal. I figured Dally would at least be there. But she said he had gotten a new job. I almost laughed when she said that. Dally wasn't the worker type. I handed her her bag and rubbed my shoulder. "I'll call you later then!" I hollered as I stepped out of her yard.

"Okay!" She walked into her house.

"So, you got her number, huh?" Johnny nudged me in the side.

"Yeah. But it's so she can come over and help me." I said. There was slight disappointment in my voice.

"Help you with what?"

"I sleep in history."

"Oh." He said. "Still, you got her number." That was a good way to look at it. I had Daisy Winston's phone number. And she was coming over to my house. It was to study, but it would just be us. Darry would probably get mad about it if he knew I was inviting her over while he was still at work. But it wasn't like anything was going to happen.

Johnny and me walked home, to be greeted by Two-bit Mathews. He was drinking a beer while he watched Mickey Mouse. I always thought it was funny how a bunch of tuff greasers who liked to fight and drink and get into trouble, also liked watching shows like Mickey Mouse. But I watched the show too sometimes, and had to keep my mouth shut.

"What's going on, Pone?" He took another gulp of his beer.

"Not much."

"What about you, Johnnycakes?"

"Aw, nothing much." Johnny answered.

I threw my coat on the floor and tossed my shoes next to the door. Johnny picked up my stuff and fixed it neatly, hanging up my coat and alligning my shoes with the others by the door. He did the same with his stuff. I ran into the kitchen. There was a note hanging on the fridge. It was from Darry. "That roof is taking me longer than I thought it would. I'll be back around eleven, if I'm lucky. Have Soda make dinner." I read it aloud. Johnny listened as I read it.

"Hey, Ponyboy, what am I gonna do while Daisy's here?" He asked. I hadn't really thought that through.

"I don't know. Why don't you see if Soda wants to do something?" I suggested. I didn't really want him there either. I just wanted it to be me and Daisy. Alone.

"I guess I could ask..." He sounded bummed.

"Go ask Two-bit. He might want to do somethin' too." I told him. He left towards the livingroom and returned a few seconds later.

"I think he left." I went and checked. He wasn't there anymore.

I decided I wouldn't call Daisy until Soda got home from work, that way I could eat before she got there. Johnny and I passed time by loafing around. He was watching TV. I read a book. It seemed like it took hours before Soda finally got there. It was around five o' clock.

"What are you two doing just sitting around? It's Friday night!" He exclaimed. "Where's Darry?"

"He got held up at work. He left a note." I answered.

"Okay, who's cookin'?" He asked. I told him that he was, and he playfully punched me in the arm. It hurt, even though we both knew it wasn't suppose to. He went into the kitchen and began to whistle. I heard a few pans hit something. After a few minutes, I could smell burgers. Soda made burgers better than anyone I knew. He crisped them perfectly. I ate two. Johnny ate two or three. Soda left three for Darry, and ate all of the rest. He oughta be fat, I thought.

I took a look at the clock we had hanging on the wall. It was going to be six soon. I didn't want to walk Daisy home in the dark. I nudged Johnny and aimed my eyes up towards the clock, so he could see the time. "Alright! I'll ask him." He whispered, getting off the sofa. "Hey, Soda!" I heard him from the kitchen. "Wanna go do something?"

"Like what?" I heard Soda ask.

"I don't know. How 'bout football?" Johnny wasn't good at football. I don't think he liked it either. I was probably the only person he would make that sacrifice for. Of course, I was his best friend, so it was given he would do that for me.

"Sounds good." Soda stepped out of the kitchen. "You want to play, Pony?" He asked.

"No, Daisy's comin' over." I answered. I didn't plan on telling him. It just kind of came out.

"Dally's sister?" I nodded. "Why is she comin' here?"

"I fell asleep in history. She's going to teach me what I missed."

"Okay. That's it though, Ponyboy. You remember, you're only fourteen." He chuckled.

"Alright." I agreed. He ran to his room, came out with a football in his hand, and ran out the door. Johnny followed him. I took Daisy's number out of my pocket and dialed it into the phone hanging on the wall. I waited a few seconds, listening to her side of the line ring a few times. Finally some one picked up.

"Hello?" The voice answered.

"Daisy?" I asked, recognizing her voice.

"Ponyboy Curtis?" She replied.

"Yeah, want me to come get you?"

"Uhmm...sure." She said. "Are we walking to your house?"

"Yeah, it's a little chilly out too." I said, knowing she was probably in a skirt and sandals. "You might wanna grab a sweater."

"Okay. I will."

We were both quiet for a few seconds. "When will you get here?" She asked.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Her house was only a block or two away.

"Alright then. See you in a few minutes." I heard her phone click. She had hung up. I did the same. I threw on my jacket and slipped on my shoes and ran down the road, towards her house. The sky was still lit, thank goodness. I was running really fast, so I didn't really get to see what I was passing. I was going so fast, you would think a soc was tailing me.

When I got to her house, she was sitting on her porch steps waiting for me. "Hey, Come on!' I waved. She got up and joined me. We held hands on the way to my house. I think she was nervous about walking down the roads when it was getting late. I was kind of nervous about holding her hand. My palms were sweaty, and I hoped she didn't notice. I wished I hadn't ran so fast.

We passed Darry on the way home. He was fixing up a roof, like his note said. "Hold on a second. I want to go see my brother real fast." I told her, as I ran into the yard. Darry was getting another load of roofing when I caught him. "Hey." I said cooly.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I was walking home."

"From where?"

"Dally's house." It sounded better than telling him I was at Daisy's.

"What the heck were you doing there? Dally's here."

"Where?"

"You know, that's a good question." He said, setting down the roofing. I walked with him as he searched for Dally.

"Since when does Dally work with you?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Since a few days ago. Said something about needin' money for an apartment." Darry said. "He's actually a pretty good worker." He spotted Dally and headed straight for him. He was talking to two girls. One had long, wavy brown hair. She had blue eyes and looked like she wanted to be any other place than where she was right then. The other girl had black hair and green eyes. And she seemed absolutely amazed by the garbage Dally was telling them. Darry grabbed his arm firmly and pulled him away from them. "Get back to work." Dally grabbed the roofing and headed up the ladder. "He's a good worker when he isn't pulling stunts like that."

"Is that the girl you were telling us about?" I asked, pointing at the girl with wavy hair.

"Yeah. I was talking to her earlier. She's new around here, and I think she already hates Dally." He laughed. "I think that's the fastest anyone's ever taken a disliking to him."

"The other girl seems to like him." I interrupted.

"Samantha seems to like anyone." He told me. "You should be getting home now." It's going to be getting dark soon. I'll talk to you at home." He swatted me away, so I left.

Daisy took my hand again as we began walking. As I opened the door and we stepped inside, I was embarrassed by how messy we had left the house. There were clothes thrown around, and one of the guys must have been at our house reading, because there were a few dirty magizines laying around. She sat her shoes nicely by the door, and she folded her sweater and left it on the sofa. "Cute little place you got here." She said, looking around.

"Thanks." I said. I was holding my neck as I thought of what to say next. My house was a mess, and she knew it. She was just being nice. "It usually doesn't look like this."

"So, where are we studying at?" She asked.

"Well, my stuff is in my room." I told her, leading her down the hall.

I was relieved when I saw that Johnny had tidied up the room. It was neat, compared to the rest of the house. I sat down on the bed, and she plopped down next to me. She pulled my pillow over to where she was sitting and placed herself upon it. I opened my history book, which I had laid out on my bed.

"Do you just want to read what we read in class?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Then we need to sit so that we both see the book." She said softly. I turned the book towards her and laid down to her side. She laid down too, so that are heads were only inches apart. We took turns reading aloud. I kept losing my place, because I couldn't stop looking at her. Her face was so detailed. Her pink lips. Her long black eye lashes. Her deep, dark, dancing brown eyes. Her perfect smile that appeared in glimpses as she spoke. Her light skin, that appeared smooth and flawless as porcelain. "Ponyboy, are you paying attention to me?" She asked. "You seem really out of it."

"Sorry, I just got sidetracted." I explained.

"By what? We're the only ones here."

"You." I told her, feeling very confident.

She gleamed, causing her flawless pale cheeks to change to a light pink shade. "What's so fascinating about me?" She asked. I wasn't sure what to say, so I threw her a friendly smile. "No, Pony, really! Tell me!" She shook me playfully.

"I just think, well, I was, You...I think you're really pretty." I told her.

"You do?" She squealed. "I think you're pretty cute yourself." She started to twirl her hair around her index finger.

"Really?" She shook her head. "Why?"

"Your eyes are gorgous." She said, laying her head against the matress. "Why do you think I'm pretty?"

"Your smile." I told her.

"Can I tell you a secret, Ponyboy?" She asked. I nodded.

"I like you." She whispered into my ear.


End file.
